Question of the Month
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Once they start complaining about the price of gas and the economy, I have seen and heard service advisors jump right on board
with them and acknowledge their complaining. They start to prioritize the repair order too quickly and not address the whole
pile, or start prejudging the customers and picking and choosing what they should be talking to customers about and what they
would ask them to spend. Even worse, they allow that to dictate the price tags they give their customers, leading not only
to lower sales, but also to thinner profit margins. That combination of lower sales and thinner margins is definitely a recipe for bankruptcy. My first word of advice: stop.
Stick to the basics, do what you know how to do, keep the customers informed on the condition of their automobiles, link the
features and the benefits of the services and show them how to avoid their pain (poor fuel economy and car payments) and invest
in maintenance.
The biggest key to becoming a successful service writer is consistency. The shops and the service advisors that have remained
consistent are hitting record weeks, months and quarters. I see it all over the country. They are focused on building and
maintaining relationships and building confidence and trust with their customers. They are using one of the biggest benefits
to schedule maintenance and maintenance services to their advantage — increased or maintained fuel economy.
They are recommending services that increase fuel economy and teaching customers how keeping cars in proper running order
will allow the car to last longer and get the 300,000 miles that they are built for. The ones who haven't done this have allowed
this to smack them right in the face, using it as an excuse, and they may not survive. Only the strong will survive, and I
have plenty of clients who are taking advantage of shops going out of business, getting customers and talented employees to
add to their team. My second word of advice: leadership. Pay attention to morale and your crew. It is easy for service writers and technicians
to fall into that "negative trap." Again, they hear the customers complaining about the economy and their woes, but your people
feel it, too. They have to buy gas and food, and they watch the news as well. It starts with the customers, then gets to the
writers and then trickles to the technicians. Then all you have is a shop full of bad attitude.
Where does it end? With you, being the leader of the shop. First, get your head around the whole thing and what you are going
to do to combat the high price of fuel and customers tightening up on their wallets. Then get your service writers the sales,
information tools and training they may need to help get customers to see the value in buying maintenance and to continue
to be there for them to keep them pumped up. Role-play with them, practice with them in specific training meetings. Never
use or allow the word economy as an excuse. And make sure that they have a carrot to chase in the form of rewards for performance.
Seagull management and weak leaders will not survive; your customers and your talented crew may eventually end up on someone
else's team.
If you can't fix the low morale and bad attitude, you will go backward.
So how is a poorly maintained automobile inefficient? Any malfunction in one or more components in the fuel, ignition or emissions
systems, especially in extreme temperatures, has a huge penalty in fuel efficiency. The penalty for just one misfiring spark
plug is two to three miles per gallon. Any increased rolling resistance, whether it is underinflated tires, poor alignment,
worn shocks and struts or any brake component causing the slightest drag, leads to as much as two miles per gallon.
Inadequate cooling system or thermostats lead to two miles per gallon. Any slipping or hesitant shifting from the transmission
leads to one to two miles per gallon. Dirty oil and sludge buildup can lead to one mile per gallon. Dirty air filters, fuel
injectors and induction system, and even restricted fuel filters lead to one to two miles per gallon.
What most overlook and not even think about — gas caps and an improperly functioning EVAP system — allow fuel to evaporate
and have huge penalties in fuel efficiency. I read an article that said more than 147 million gallons of gas is wasted through
loose or bad gas caps alone.
